Kalibri Labs: U.S. Hotel Closures Accelerating

U.S. midscale, upper-midscale and upscale hotels in recent weeks have seen rising week-over-week closure rates, according to Kalibri Labs, reversing the overall closure trend from the summer and the third quarter. 

As of Dec. 11, 1,753 U.S. hotels were closed, representing all segments, according to Kalibri Labs’ latest weekly Industry Health Dashboard report. That is the highest number of closed properties since 2,070 were closed the week of June 26. The number of closures declined each week in October and early November, then began picking up Nov. 13.

The report also shows that total U.S. hotel demand across all segments continued to trend negative through the middle of December. Year-over-year trends have decreased to their lowest rates since late in the second quarter. 

Group demand also continues to suffer, with cancellation rates growing for the first two quarters of 2021. The group room and food and beverage revenue cancellation rate for January for the weeks from Nov. 13 to Dec. 11 ranged from 78 percent to 81 percent, with rates of 63 percent to 69 percent for February, 48 percent to 54 percent for March, 20 percent to 28 percent for April, and 20 percent to 26 percent for May.